1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to lawn mowers, specifically to lawn mowers having removable bags for collecting and disposing of grass clippings.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the related art, it has been known to use lawn mowers to mow lawns. It has also been known that many lawn mowers have a bag and/or other accessories for collecting grass clippings. Most of these accessories utilize some type of bag or container attachment to the lawn mower to collect the grass clippings.
While lawn mower bag or container attachments most often adequately collect the mowed grass, they frequently become filled during one mowing session, resulting in the need to periodically stop the lawn mower, detach the collecting bag or container from the lawn mower, empty the bag or container into a receptacle for ultimate disposal, and reattach the collecting bag or container to the mower—all a time consuming process. Emptying of the collecting bag or container is also often a bulky and awkward process. In addition, clippings are frequently spilled and require extra effort to collect. Furthermore, these collecting bags or containers are usually made out of a canvas or like material which wears out easily and frequently needs to be replaced.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved lawn mowers, bags, and the like. Some improvements have been made in the field. Examples include but are not limited to the references described below, which references are incorporated by reference herein:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,566,257, issued to Akrabawi, discloses a lawn mower disposable grass collection bag attachment. An improvement for a lawn mower of the type that propels clippings and a stream of air from its cutting area which improvement allows it to collect the clippings in a horizontally disposed plastic trash bag is disclosed. Transfer means, a plate with an opening sized to the mower discharge chute, is releasably mounted on the mower against the chute to receive the clippins and stream of air and pass them through it in one direction. The plate defines a vent opening to allow air to vent in the opposite direction, and has means for releasably affixing the disposable bag's opening's marginal areas in a generally vertical plane such that the bag encloses both the vent and clipping openings, so that clippings and air propelled into the horizontally disposable bag and air are vented from it. Several embodiments of transfer plate are disclosed for retrofitting different mowers, and several embodiments of different means for affixing the bag are disclosed, including a rectangular bracket that sandwiches the plastic of the trash baq against a conformingly shaped channel in the plate and is held there by spring clips and a horizontal groove or channel that receives a spring-loaded chain of shock cord. A safety container that supports and substantially surrounds the plastic baq is mounted to the mower and its handle This container has its top formed to be openable so as to be able to remove filled bags and replace them with new ones. The safety container has a pocket for holding and carrying a supply of empty plastic trash bags.
U.S. Pat. No.: 4,989,400, issued to Wark, discloses a disposable bag and mounting apparatus for a lawn mower. A disposable bag for collecting grass clippings or the like has ventilation holes in only a portion of its surface. The bag has a narrow mouth mounted to a connector assembly, or, alternatively, directly to a discharge chute of a mower. The disposable bag is supported by a cradle assembly mounted to the handlebars of the mower.
U.S. Pat. No.: 4,747,259, issued to Kline et al., discloses a grass catching assembly and disposable bag therefore. A grass catching assembly for a lawn mower includes an adapter assembly attachable to the grass discharge area of the mower. A disposable bag is attached to the adapter so that mowed grass from the mower is passed through the adapter and into the disposable bag.
The inventions heretofore known suffer from a number of disadvantages which include: being heavy, being difficult to install, being difficult to remove, being difficult to access, being difficult to use, not being disposable, and/or not being biodegradable.
What is needed is a lawn mower that solves one or more of the problems described herein and/or one or more problems that may come to the attention of one skilled in the art upon becoming familiar with this specification.